Listing Schools when Applying for Grad

[kumapanda]

When applying to grad school, it normally asks for me to list all the schools I have been to.  My main school is CSULB, but I have also been accepted into 3 Community Colleges I applied for back in spring 2011 in case of summer courses I need to take for GE requirements.  Would I have to list those 3 Community Colleges I was accepted into?  I only took 1 course from one of the Community Colleges back in Summer 2011, Macro Economy.  I had a B in that class, but I never transferred it over to CSULB because I was discouraged to (I had a B in the class, which would lower my GPA).  Should I worry and transfer that college course to CSULB or mention it when applying for grad school?  I'm worried it would lower my GPA and chance of getting into a program.  I know a lot of schools only look at your major GPA or the last 60 units, but I also have some schools that like to look at the overall GPA of your bachelor's degree.   

Edited August 9, 2014 by rainsonata

[TakeruK]

You should list every school where you were officially registered as a student or visiting student. If you were accepted into other schools but did not attend, you don't have to list them. I would not worry about a single course from community college making a difference since they will know that it's just one course from that school.

[Vene]

In the interests of full honesty, you should include every college or university where you received credits. I could potentially see only including colleges which contributed to your BA (so only colleges from which you transferred courses to the degree granting institution), if only because the other school(s) were irrelevant towards the final degree. I do highly doubt that the single B will make any sort of difference as it shouldn't make any appreciable difference in your overall GPA.

 

Assuming the GPA listed in your signature is for 120 credits and the community college class was 3 credits it would bring your cumulative GPA to 3.639. Otherwise, let's say you have 30 credits to do before you graduate and you have 90 credits completed, then it would bring your cGPA to 3.634. Either way, the difference is truly negligible.

[HopefulGrad2017]

On that note, would you have to list a private technical college you went to that has nothing to do with this degree? Right now I am a vet tech. I went to tech school in 1999, got an AAS. And since it was a private school, no classes transfer (not general ed classes like English, math, chemistry, micro, etc). And it doesn't affect my current GPA. So would that be relevant? I did do excellent in the classes if they want to look at my grades.

[GandalfTheGrey]

I think you should list and submit transcripts for EVERY school that has ever given you a grade. The grad schools can choose to ignore your transcripts for vet tech, but the last thing you want is to get in trouble for having omitted something from your application. Often, the reason people intentionally omit a school is that they cheated/got in trouble badly enough that it was noted on their transcript. So if you have nothing to hide, you should absolutely show them everything. (And if you do have a disciplinary record, better to be up front with it than to have a school find out after the fact and get your acceptance rescinded. If your concern is that you have something on one of those transcripts that you don't want grad schools to see, PM me and we can chat about ways to put a positive spin on it... but list all those schools.)

[kumapanda]

I think you should list and submit transcripts for EVERY school that has ever given you a grade. The grad schools can choose to ignore your transcripts for vet tech, but the last thing you want is to get in trouble for having omitted something from your application. Often, the reason people intentionally omit a school is that they cheated/got in trouble badly enough that it was noted on their transcript. So if you have nothing to hide, you should absolutely show them everything. (And if you do have a disciplinary record, better to be up front with it than to have a school find out after the fact and get your acceptance rescinded. If your concern is that you have something on one of those transcripts that you don't want grad schools to see, PM me and we can chat about ways to put a positive spin on it... but list all those schools.)

 

If I list that community college when applying, do I have to go through the transfer route for my 4 year college (CSULB)?  Or can I simply list the community college and CSULB separately when applying to grad schools and submit transcripts from the two schools?

[Vene]

If I list that community college when applying, do I have to go through the transfer route for my 4 year college (CSULB)?  Or can I simply list the community college and CSULB separately when applying to grad schools and submit transcripts from the two schools?

You'd want to submit the transcripts separately either way.

[Persis]

I think you should list and submit transcripts for EVERY school that has ever given you a grade. The grad schools can choose to ignore your transcripts for vet tech, but the last thing you want is to get in trouble for having omitted something from your application. Often, the reason people intentionally omit a school is that they cheated/got in trouble badly enough that it was noted on their transcript. So if you have nothing to hide, you should absolutely show them everything. (And if you do have a disciplinary record, better to be up front with it than to have a school find out after the fact and get your acceptance rescinded. If your concern is that you have something on one of those transcripts that you don't want grad schools to see, PM me and we can chat about ways to put a positive spin on it... but list all those schools.)

How would a school know if you do not submit all your transcripts from every school?  I find it hard to believe that they can find that information out.

[TakeruK]

How would a school know if you do not submit all your transcripts from every school?  I find it hard to believe that they can find that information out.

 

They might not. Part of the application process is the applicant being honest and disclosing everything they are asked to disclose. Technically, you are violating the terms of the application if you do not submit these transcripts (or withhold other required information) because all applications end with a signature that you understand the rules and know what you are expected to submit.

 

Some schools may find out through random ways but I think you would be right that unless your application is flagged somehow, they are not going to spend a large amount of time on every single applicant. But to me, I think the risk of being caught as a fraud is far higher than any potential benefit of leaving out one or two courses. Also, starting your career as an academic or a professional on fraud is not something I would want to do and I don't think it is responsible behaviour.

[Vene]

How would a school know if you do not submit all your transcripts from every school?  I find it hard to believe that they can find that information out.

I think the main way they would find out is if you transferred credits and the degree granting institution referenced them on their official transcript without providing any details. I believe my alma mater's transcript just lists that x credits were transferred in from y university. So, a graduate program will see that and want to know how the applicant actually performed in the transferred classes as well as what they were.